FicWad

Sixteen

By Kari Izumi

Chapter Two: The Radio Call

Sorry for the long wait, people! I've had a busy few weeks and this chapter was harder than I thought it would be to write. And thanks for all the reviews.

As usual, I own nothing but the fic.

-----

"Just why were you driving my car anyway?" Seto's voice was barely holding back the anger and frustration he was feeling at that moment. Not that anyone could see inside the tinted window of the limo, nor could the driver hear thought the privacy guard; but Mokuba knew his brother. He wanted to seem like he was in control of everything, regardless of whether anyone was looking.

"I put it in the shop, Nii-sama," Mokuba said heatedly. "You don't have to worry, everything's okay!"

"Like hell it is! How do you think it feels to be the last person to find out about this? You could have been hurt! Were you even going to tell me?"

Sitting on the other side of the limo facing Seto, Mokuba didn't respond, his eyes looking at his shoes. Of all the times to come back early from a trip, he /had /to pick this one, and he couldn't remember the last time he was so absolutely angry-and even more worrisome, Seto's voice carried a bit of frustration in it.

"Honestly, Mokuba, I'm disappointed in you," Seto said quietly. "You're a lot more responsible that you've been acting lately."

Mokuba's head snapped up and a flash of anger went through his eyes.

"So why am I'm still not allowed to go out anywhere without the damn bodyguards following me? Or go on a trip with my friends alone? Or...hmmm, live in Tokyo to go to school?"

Seto was quiet for a moment as he regained his composure. His eyes didn't betray whatever feelings he may have had about Mokuba's outspokenness.

"We've had this talk before, Mokuba. You're too young to be out on your own entirely, and going to school in another town, even a boarding school, can be tough. And your behavior lately isn't helping your case. You're my little brother and I'm going to take care of you."

Mokuba opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself, a scowl crossing his otherwise handsome face. When Seto was his age, he had taken over Kaiba Corp and faced down many dangerous people-and yet, he didn't think that he, Mokuba, could handle school in another town? It was incredibly shortsighted.

Nothing else was said between the two until the limo stopped at the Kaiba mansion. Mokuba got out first and headed up the stairs to his room without saying a word to Seto.

"Dinner will be in an hour," Seto called after him, but the only response he got was the sound of a slamming door. Mokuba wasn't interested in food in the least bit at that moment.

Falling onto his bed and landing on his stomach, Mokuba faced the large glass balcony door on the other side of his room. He grabbed a pillow to prop his head up with as he watched the sky change colors from the setting sun.

Mokuba knew he should be happy with his life; his brother was the wealthiest man in the world and had always been there to support him in just about any decision he made. He was very intelligent and got though schoolwork without breaking much of a mental sweat. And lately, he'd become somewhat of a local media darling--which was a big boost to his love life.

Most of the world knew him better as "Seto Kaiba's little brother." And the older he got, the more of a sore point it was to him.

Mokuba didn't love his brother any less nor was he ungrateful to him. And he was proud to have such a successful brother as Seto. But lately, it was starting to bother him more and more than people didn't know him for Mokuba Kaiba, the sixteen year old who loves music and playing guitar, the Vice President of Kaiba Corp (a position he had held since he was ten years old after that bastard Gozaburo did the world a favor and killed himself, leaving Seto in charge of the company). He wasn't just Kaiba's little brother.

/I'm not "little" anymore, period, /he thought bitterly. But even more bothersome than not being recognized by the world for who he was and not just who he happened to be related to, Seto didn't seem to see him as being anything but a kid either, for all the safety precautions he pushed on him.

Indeed, anyone who wanted to kidnap or otherwise harm Mokuba nowadays would have a hard time doing so. When his high school had done physical exams, even he was surprised that his height matched Seto's exactly--186 centimeters. He towered over his entire first year class and had stepped in more than once to stop little petty bullies from their torment.

Despite all of this, Seto still insisted he be escorted in and out the Kaiba Corp building, as well as when he visited Kaiba Land on any official business like tournaments. And his bodyguards came to school to pick him up.

"You don't know if or when someone has a loaded gun," Seto had told him the first time he complained about the bodyguards seven months ago. "Our unusual height makes it that much easier to pick out."

Mokuba had taken great delight in playing "Ditch the guards" at every opportunity after that, much to Isono's chagrin.

It felt really great when he turned sixteen and got his provisional license. The freedom of going anywhere without always having to tell someone felt like a breath of fresh air. His classmates from school, especially the girls, were impressed that he could drive.

Even if two-seaters weren't the most comfortable places in the world to make out.

He sighed at that thought. Mokuba wasn't going to have /any /fun for the next month. So much for a kick-ass summer break.

It wasn't fair. Hadn't he proven himself responsible all of his life? Hadn't he done a lot to show his brother he was capable of taking care of himself over the years? He certainly thought so. Mokuba had always done his part to help run the business, but lately, it wasn't enough just to do everything to make Seto happy, as important as he was to him still.

Mokuba wanted to do things he wanted.

Exactly who was he, anyway? Aside from Seto's cute little brother, who wasn't so little anymore?

He had found what he loved to do three years ago. Mokuba had signed up for beginning music at the start of junior high and started on violin--and he was absolutely terrible at it, no matter how hard he practiced. After about two months and little to show for it, Seto had hired a private tutor...one who, as it happened, also played guitar very well.

Suffice it to say, the guitar came much easier than the violin did.

His music was the reason why Mokuba had wanted to attend school in Tokyo...

There's no point in thinking about that. It won't change anything. Maybe in two years, when it's time for college, Nii-sama will be a bit more open...

More than anything in the world, Mokuba wanted to be seen for himself. The constant comparisons and references to Seto had long since grown tiresome. Many radio and TV shows noted he never dueled in any of his brother's tournaments, as if he were supposed to want to do everything Seto did. For all their closeness as brothers, they shared remarkably few interests.

/We're so different, we should belong in two different families, /he remarked to himself.

When he was a child, Seto nearly always took Mokuba on trips with him and they did just about everything together--which consisted mostly of a lot of work-related trips, though. Mokuba was content enough just to be at Seto's side during it all, even when he was bored at the board meetings and some of the older female business partners would coo at how adorably sweet he was.

He rarely thought about himself. Until now.

I should be a bit selfish. Why shouldn't I be, I've been a good brother all these years, and I've never thought about what I want to do. Nii-sama is known to be a gaming genius, and I have to find my own talents.

I can't be just Seto's little brother. I cannot. I /am /not.

But yet, no matter how much he wanted to distance himself, Mokuba couldn't help but to feel guilty for thinking that way. After everything Seto had to go through to give him the life he had now...did he have a right to protest?

With a sigh, he turned over and rubbed a hand though his dark locks before turning on the TV and flipping through the stations before he found something that was remotely interesting.

-----

"Oh, wow...that's such a great song, isn't it?" a perky and energetic radio DJ said to her co-anchor.

"Hmmm...it sure was!" an equally enthusiastic and husky male voice replied. "It's also at the top of the charts, pre-selling 5,000 copies and having many downloads off of iTunes!"

"Once again, this is the Morning Music Parade, with Shouji-Kun and Chiyoko-chan! Please enjoy one last song to end the ten o'clock hour with!" The female DJ, Chiyoko, chirped, and several seconds later, a chipper, bubble-gum pop chart began playing. Mokuba recognized it vaguely as the theme song to some anime, but he couldn't pinpoint the name of the show.

It was eleven in the morning the next day after Seto had returned home, and Mokuba was in his room on the computer. The radio was turned onto one of the most popular radio stations in Domino city. It was where he got his inspirations for the many guitar tabs he wrote in his spare time. Today, there was a half-hour segment called "Idol Rumor Report" that featured a lot of gossip on celebrities that was especially popular in school.

At the moment, Mokuba was busy looking over some of the e-mails that got sent from customers from the Kaiba Corp website:

Hi Kaiba-san! These new lighter Duel Discs are so much easier to use, since I'm a somewhat small girl. BTW, you are very hot and--

Assuming the letter was addressed to Seto and not him, Mokuba hit the delete button without bothering to read that very lengthy e-mail. He imagined it probably read like some of the hentai fanfiction he'd come across in his spare time.

Damn, some people have no sense of decency.

At least it wasn't a letter like the one he came across last month where someone suggested that he and Seto looked cute together in that way. Mokuba had nearly thrown up the sandwich he had just eaten at the thought of being with his brother. He clicked past about ten or fifteen more before coming across that addressed him personally:

Hey, Mokuba-Kun! Look at me, I'm sending a letter to you from the website! Yay!

The letter was from a classmate of his. As the email addresses themselves were kept private, Mokuba didn't know whom it could be, but he was used to this by now. He'd received at least one or two of these types of letters since grade school, including plenty of secret admirer letters.

If there was one thing that differentiated Mokuba from Seto, it was socializing. Mokuba loved parties. He was limited to the parties his friends hosted, since Seto wasn't keen on letting him host one; it had been enough of a struggle convincing him to have a private party at Kaiba Land when he turned thirteen.

Mokuba sighed. For a house of its size, it sure did get boring quickly. He couldn't even practice his guitar, since Seto had locked the door to his practice room and locked his guitar collection up with it; he'd tried going to the pool to cool off, but found the surrounding fence was also locked. Mokuba couldn't remember the last time, if ever, he had had a punishment that was so restrictive.

Then again, he couldn't remember a time when Seto was more pissed with him, either.

"...And now it's time for Idol Rumor Report!" A cheerful pop-type intro came on for a few seconds before Shouji started chatting about how a rock idol from a big-name group in Tokyo had married his long-time girlfriend, amidst rumors that said girl might be "in the family way." Mokuba didn't listen to the details, as he scanned through another twenty e-mails before he found something interesting that was worth reading:

You Kaiba boys are hot!

Beneath the words was a hyperlink to a photo of a very well endowed woman, wearing nothing but a well-placed Duel Disc across her chest. Mokuba felt his cheeks grow red and a nervous laugh escaped him before exiting the web browser.

"Yeah...umm..." Mokuba was tempted to forward the letter to Seto's official business email, just to see how he'd react to it. But Seto had been lecturing him as it was for being too girl crazy and decided wasn't a good idea to further piss him off if he wanted his cars back. With one last look at the photo, he hit the delete button.

"Hey, look at this e-mail!" Chiyoko squealed in excitement. "Seems like Seto Kaiba's little brother Mokuba is getting a reputation as a playboy, eh?"

His head snapped over in the direction of the radio. Was that his name he had heard on this show? No way. He'd heard Seto get a few mentions around the time of the last tournament he hosted at Kaiba Land last year, but he had never heard his name on this show before. Mokuba might have been a bit happier about this if this wasn't going to ruin his social life.

"Oh, shit," he muttered. But who could he have ticked off? Mokuba never had a real girlfriend and never really did more than make out with the girls he met at parties (much to his annoyance).

"Ooooh, this girl's really pissed off!" Shouji gleefully said. "Listen to this, folks:

'Last night, I was going to have a date with the wealthiest boy in town. I met him last week when he ran into my car...' Oooh, we missed that story, didn't we?"

"Oh, yeah, I read about it last night...but anyway..."

"Right... ' and was going to take me out to dinner to help make up for it...but the jerk didn't call me to say he wasn't coming and I still haven't heard from him! I hope all the women listening to this will take heed of this!'"

By this time, Mokuba's tanned face had turned beet red, and he had buried his head into his face. Amidst Seto's early homecoming and the lecture he received when they got home for crashing the car, Mokuba had completely forgotten about /that/. Not surprisingly, she was a more than a little upset at having been stood up for no reason. He didn't expect to be reminded about it over the damn radio.

This was easily the most humiliating moment in his entire life. Before that, it was the time in the Legendary Heroes virtual game where he came across a Princess character with was the splitting image of him, adorned in the frilliest dress he'd ever seen. Mokuba didn't think much of it at the time because Seto was in danger...but looking back, it wasn't something he'd be eager to share with anyone.

At least that wasn't being broadcast for everyone to hear, /he thought. /I wanted to be distinguished from Nii-sama, but couldn't I have had something else besides this? His first thought was to call up the show and clarify what exactly had happened. It was a mix-up, it happens to everyone, right?

But no. Seto always told him to let the PR agent do the speaking for them in such matters and keep up their image. Mokuba had always hated that; he liked being able to say what he wanted.

"Well," Chiyoko started up, "At least we all know that the younger Kaiba-kun is interested in the fairer sex. Has his brother ever had a love interest?"

"None I've heard of," Shouji replied. "Now that you mention it, he really doesn't come off as being very friendly."

And much to his great annoyance, the two of them got into a rather long discussion about how it could be that someone as rich and powerful ("And so hot!" Chiyoko added with extra enthusiasm, as Mokuba stifled a few gagging noises) as Seto Kaiba couldn't find himself a special somebody.

"Every girl in town...no, this country," Shouji corrected himself, "would jump at the chance to date him, but it doesn't seem like he's not even taking the bait!"

"And with the business trips he makes, you think he maybe has a few girls overseas we don't know about?"

Mokuba let out a snort. And just how did the discussion get turned around from his love life to Seto's anyway? This sort of thing no longer surprised him, but it still managed to bother him a bit. Mokuba had momentarily forgotten the reason for his name being a hot topic was not one he should necessarily be proud of.

"Or maybe Seto Kaiba-san just may not like women, hmmm...he's got lots of money, who knows what he can cover up!"

Mokuba glared at the radio just then, his irritation subsiding for the moment and being taken over by indignance. Who gave them the right to say like that? Where did he come up to that conclusion?

Chiyoko gasped in between her giggles. "Shouji-kun, you shouldn't say that on the air!"

"It's not like Seto Kaiba is actually listening to this or anything..."

Even when he was younger, misinformed comments about Seto always hurt Mokuba. Seto drowned them out because he had to, but he wasn't able to forget that sort of thing so easily. Mokuba knew why Seto was the way he was, and no one got to say such things about his brother, ever.

Wait...I'm old enough to clear things up, /Mokuba said decidedly. /I don't even need to tell Nii-sama about it.

It took all of thirty seconds for Mokuba to get the number of the radio station. The phone rang twice before he heard a deep, gravelly voice on the other end answer. "Hell, this is--"

"Where's the manager?" Mokuba snapped.

"Ummm....er, this is him, sir...how may I help you--"

"Put me on the air this minute!" The tone of voice sounded a lot like Seto's at that moment.

The man chuckled nervously. "Um, I'm sorry, sir, may I ask who this is?"

"This is the Vice President of Kaiba Cooperation ready to sue for slander. Now put me on the air. Or would you like to talk to a lawyer?" Mokuba had no intention of suing anyone, but the man got the message loud and clear and no more questions were asked. Being the Vice President of the company sure did have its upside every now and again.

Gee, I really am turning into Nii-sama.

"...as of right now, no one is commenting on the pictures that were taken of the Parliament member outside of a love hotel in Osaka." Chiyoko had just ended a story that Mokuba had not paid the least amount of attention to.

"He wouldn't be the first high-ranking official to be into Loli-con...ooh, our manager says he have a very special person that wants to speak to us." Shouji paused as apparently the manager told him who it was. "Hey folks, it's none other than the Vice President of Kaiba Corp himself, Mokuba Kaiba-san!"

"I wouldn't be so cheerful, if I were you," retorted Mokuba. No one heard him, as he was still on hold. The music on the other end of the line turned off as Shouji's voice connected him to the phone a few seconds later. "Hi, there, how are you today?"

The voice he responded with was uncharacteristically sharp. "I heard your stupid ass comment about my brother."

"Oh...umm..." Chiyoko's apparent nervousness passed in a few seconds, as she pretended to be in control. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean! That remark about my brother 'not being into women.' That one!"

More nervous laughter followed.

"Well...um, we are very sorry about that, Kaiba-san..." Shouji replied after a few seconds "We didn't mean--"

"For me to hear it? Yeah, I guess you are very sorry." Mokuba couldn't help but wonder how far both their jaws dropped at hearing "Seto Kaiba's little brother" speak to them in such a way. "You two know nothing about our lives or the way we were raised! Nii-sama doesn't socialize because he has to work! You think you'd always party if you'd been at work for twelve hours and have to run a multi-trillion yen company? So please, do shut the fuck up about topics you two know nothing about."

In the background, Mokuba swore he heard something fall onto the floor.

"Well now, Kaiba-kun, now that we've cleared that up...tell us...is there a special person in your brother's life, hmmm?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "That's really none of your concern, Chiyoko. You want to talk to my brother, ask /him /for an interview." Not that Seto would give anyone the time of day for that, even if he had the time for it.

But Chiyoko hadn't gotten the hint. "Aw, come on, tell us!" she continued to fake whine, which irked the dark haired boy even more. The grip on the small cell phone grew even tighter and his teeth tensed up. "We all know you two are so close--"

You don't know a damn thing about me.

"--After all, you're his little--"

The rest of Chiyoko's sentence went unheard and the pent up frustration that the younger Kaiba had been feeling for months finally spilled over.

"DAMNIT, I'M TIRED OF YOU PEOPLE ALWAYS ASKING ME ABOUT SETO! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I'M NOT JUST HIS LITTLE BROTHER! I HAVE MY OWN INTERESTS, TOO!"

"Kaiba-kun," Shouji tried to intervene, but it was in vain.

"Exactly how dense do you have to be to not to ask questions about the 'scandal' you were just reporting on when the guy you're talking about calls in on the same damn show?"

"Oh...um..."Chikoyo stammered. If there was one thing Mokuba knew from working, it was that no one liked being told how to do their jobs.

"If you had bothered to ask me," Mokuba said, with more than a twinge of exasperation, "I'd have told you that I didn't mean to stand her up, but that Seto grounded me for wrecking his car last Thursday. And I'm sorry about both of those things. But as usual, everything I do gets overshadowed by him!"

A voice in the back of his head said, /this sounds really bratty, you know/. Mokuba ignored it.

"I do a lot of things to help run the company, and I never get any acknowledgement about that! For once, I'd like to be recognized by the world for the things I do and not just who I happen to be related to! Damn!"

Hastily, Mokuba hit the "end" button on the phone and flung it across the room. It hit the wall with a dull THUD and fell into a corner behind the dresser. He didn't feel a bit sorry for what he said. Not only did no one get anything right about Seto, they can't even be assed enough to even bother talking to him or asking anything about his life.

Screw them.

Meanwhile, the sound of a disconnected phone was all to be heard from the radio, and Mokuba had a quick moment of delight imagining the shocked expressions on their faces. Apparently, the two DJs could shut the fuck up. Good.

"Well..." Shouji stammered.

"Ummm...Oh, look at that, here's a nice new track from the J-Rock group--"

Mokuba hastily grabbed the remote to turn off the radio. He'd had enough of the media for one day. Needless to say, he wouldn't be tuning in to the Morning Music Parade or Idol Report for a very long time.

A soft knock came from the door. "Mokuba-sama?" said the voice of a maid he knew to be named Tomoe. She had been there ever since the day he and Seto had been adopted by Gozaburo, and was the closest thing to a mother figure he'd had in his life. "Are you alright? I thought I heard you yelling earlier."

A sigh escaped his throat. "I'm fine."

"Lunch should be ready in an hour. I've also got your laundry here. May I come in and put it away?"

"Sure, whatever."

The door swung open and a middle-aged woman with gray streaks in her black hair walked in carrying a basket full of his clothing. She set the basket down by his dresser and proceeded to fold Mokuba's garments and store them away. Not feeling much like looking through the fan mail anymore (little of which would be addressed to or about him anyway), Mokuba got up from his chair, and went to lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Oh, my, you've grown so much this year, Mokuba-sama," she cooed and chuckled softly to herself. "I remember you being so scared when you first came here, and now look at you, you're at tall as--"

"Ni-sama?" he replied, irritated.

"I was going to say as tall like those American basketball players...but come to think of it, I almost did mistake you for Kaiba-sama a few nights ago when you came home real late. The lights downstairs in the hall were nearly all turned off, since I was on my way out. Then I realized he was away out of town. Hmm..."

Mokuba mentally shook his head, not being sure how anyone could mistake him for Seto, even in the dark. He didn't have a taste for long, flowing dusters that seemed to flair out, even if there was no wind present. But he was fond of Tomoe, so it let the issue go.

"It's so early in the day, and summer break's just started," Tomoe noticed. "Why aren't you out having a good time?"

"I'm grounded for messing up Nii-sama's car last week and not telling him 'bout it," he replied coolly. "Took my keys and my debit card and locked up the practice room, too."

"Oh, my, that is too bad. I'm sure Kaiba-sama will ease up on you...you're still a sweet little kid."

Tomoe turned her back to the teen, who glared at her and was mentally screaming, I am not a kid anymore!!!

The room was silent again, and Mokuba was glad for it. By tomorrow, he knew there'd be tons of talk about his impromptu interview all over the media. And then he'd hear from Seto about how he wasn't being responsible enough and not acting properly when he called into to defend him in the first place. He couldn't win, either way.

The minutes ticked away in silence during which Mokuba thought of all the things that could go even more wrong this week. His thoughts were eventually interrupted when his cell phone rang from behind the dresser where it had fallen. It was a new type of phone, where one could program different songs for each different contact in the address book. The particular song that was playing was used for one person on his contacts.

Seto.

Knowing that nothing good would come of answering the phone, Mokuba didn't bother to get up for it. Unfortunately, Tomoe stopped her work to grab the phone before he was able to tell her to ignore it. "I wonder how you got it all the way over here. Oh look, it's your brother."

/Well, no point in putting off the inevitable/, he resigned himself. Mokuba got up from the bed and took the phone out to the balcony before answering it.

"N-nii-sama..."Mokuba stammered.

"Get to my office in thirty minutes," Seto said in a sharp and quiet tone of voice, "or I'll extend your grounding for another month."

Before Mokuba had a chance to get a word in edgewise, the phone cut off. Seto definitely knew; even by his standards, his voice was way too calm. Mokuba knew his brother better than to assume this was an empty threat-especially not after last night. Jamming the phone into his front pocket, he ran back into the room, running past a confused Tomoe. "Gotta go," he called to her before running into the hallway and down the really long staircase to the front door. Hastily, he called for the driver to come around with the limo, and Mokuba didn't waste any time jumping into it.

"Where to, sir?" said the driver.

"Kaiba Corp," Mokuba replied. "And step on it."

This day was getting worse and worse, and it wasn't even noon yet. To make things even worse, by the time they pulled up to the Kaiba Corp building, Mokuba heard a loud rumbling that came from his stomach, since he hadn't eaten anything since last evening. He'd have to deal with his hunger later.

"Sir..." said the driver, "should I drop you off at the back entrance?"

Mokuba was about to ask why he had asked, until he saw a group of reporters, all trying to push their way into the lobby of the building. The PR agent looked very hassled as (Mokuba assumed) he tried to tell them that no one was about to comment on anything.

Nii-sama can't possibly be happy about that.

"Do you have to ask?"

-----

Five minutes later, the elevator stopped at the last floor of the building. Only a select few employees ever got to see this floor, as the only offices here was that which belonged to the young CEO and Vice-President of Kaiba Corp.

Mokuba hesitated outside of Seto's office for a few moments. Boy, he didn't want to be here...but he figured the sooner he got this over with, the sooner the knots in his stomach would leave. With a sigh, he opened the door and stepped in.

Across from him sat Seto sitting up stiffly in his seat with his hands folding onto his desk; his eyes had a steel-like quality to them and they were fixed right on Mokuba. Even in the plain blue suit he wore today instead of his usual long white duster, his presence was so very large against the huge window that showed the clear summer sky. Mokuba gulped and stood right where he was.

Seto paid no heed to the younger boy's discomfort as he gestured toward a chair on the other side of his desk. "Sit down, Mokuba. We need to talk."

After being in the business world since he was sixteen and being coached into his role with particularly harsh methods for six years before, Seto had long since learned to control his emotions when dealing with clients; his reputation for his apparent lack of emotion was infamous in the business world. The only person who could read though his exterior was Mokuba. Today was no exception, and he could clearly see Seto was not in a calm mood at the moment. Mokuba found his legs would not budge one centimeter and his mouth had gone a little dry.

"I won't repeat myself again," Seto spoke again; this time, he struggled to veil his agitation. "Sit down. Now."

"Ummm...yes, Nii-sama." Mokuba quickly bowed and took a few long strides to reach the chair. He felt Seto's eyes watching him as he sat down and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, and kept his eye focused on a Blue Eyes White Dragon paperweight that was right on a stack of papers the right hand side of Seto's desk. Mustering up his most cheerful smile, even though it probably looked as fake as he felt at the moment, Mokuba said, "Gee...great day today, eh?"

The next moment, Mokuba felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he jumped back into his seat slightly as Seto slammed his hands flat onto the desk. The force of the slam caused the paperweight Mokuba had been eyeing to topple over on its side. Seto stood up; or rather, he jumped straight up out of his chair and leaned towards Mokuba. His normally stone face was absolutely livid.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU LATELY?!"

If this were a scene from an anime, Mokuba thought, the background would be a bright shade of red and Seto would be fifty feet tall. Mokuba tried tentatively to open his mouth to speak, but words escaped him at that moment, having been sufficiently shocked. After a moment, Seto sat back down in his seat, his voice back to the usual calm he always showed.

"Do you know how completely stupid that was on the radio? As if it helps that you're already in the newspaper for your little accident from last week--"

"Nii-sama--" His soft voice went unheard.

"--and now, you're getting a reputation as a horny little--" Seto cut himself off and took in two deep breaths. He rarely allowed himself to swear so freely; another skill that he had so forcefully learned all those years ago. Mokuba tried to speak again.

"Did you even hear what those fools were saying about you?"

"I know what they were saying, Mokuba, the PR agents told me everything." Seto sighed. "People will always say misinformed things, but showing it affects you doesn't change anything."

"Yeah, well it does affect me! I've had to listen to everyone say stuff about you that isn't true. And I did something about it this time." Mokuba looked down at his folded hands and sighed. "What was I supposed to do, keep hearing that bullshit--"

"Watch you language," Seto reminded him sharply.

"That stuff about you? And about me, trying to make me out like I stood a girl up on purpose--"

"That's another thing I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Mokuba's eyes widened and stuck his tongue out in disgust. "God, /no/! I already know about sex!"

He remembered the last discussion they'd had on sex about three years ago. It hadn't been a particularly comfortable subject for either of them, and neither was willing to bring the subject up to the other again.

"That wasn't what I was going to talk about," Seto said, and Mokuba uttered a sigh of relief, "but I'm concerned you aren't as picky about the company you keep as you should be. How well do you know the girls you see?"

Mokuba laughed nervously. "I met one or two through a friend."

It was partially true. If Seto believed him or not, he couldn't quite tell; Seto had never been keen on the idea that Mokuba should date at all while in high school.

"One or two?"

"Aww, come on!" Mokuba groused. "I want to be able to have fun like everyone else I know! I can't help that the girls like me. I've always been the cute one, you know that."

"Hmphf," was Seto's only response. "First of all, you're not like everyone else. You never will be and you shouldn't try to be what other people want you to be. And for another, you don't know any of these girls too well, so you can't possibly judge their character. Like the one that wrote into the radio station."

Well...he had a point there.

"You've broken your curfew quite a few times recently with your club--"

"We were just practicing our music, Nii-sama!" Mokuba retorted. It was true they were rehearsing...for the most part.

"And setting yourself up to get into trouble," Seto finished. "I'm not stupid. And neither are you, which is why I called you here in the first place."

"Hold on...you didn't bring me in to yell about the radio call?" Mokuba was sure he was going to get yelled at for that.

"There's no point in lecturing about something you should already know. Life itself is the best teacher and you're much too intelligent for that. I assume you don't need me to tell you what you did was wrong. Here." Seto placed a manila folder that had been sitting on his desk this whole time into Mokuba's hands. He opened it up to reveal several pages of a stock report; this particular report was mostly focused on the Kaiba Land theme park.

"Looks like it hasn't been a good quarter this spring," Mokuba noted. "But it's the summer, things always pick back up."

"It's not just that, Mokuba. Duel Disc sales are declining as well and so is Duel Monsters merchandise."

"But the Duel Academy attendance is growing each year," Mokuba pointed out--a fact that had surprised even him, who had been one of the biggest skeptics for that idea initially.

Seto nodded, but his eyes were still a bit worried. "That won't continue to be the case if the popularity of the game keeps falling. But that's where you come in."

Mokuba blinked in puzzlement. "What?"

"It's quite simple, really. I thought about commissioning someone else for this, but I heard some of the things you said on the radio today and thought you'd be more suited for this."

"I'm confused," Mokuba stated flatly. If anything, he would have thought Seto would keep him out of anything related to Kaiba Corp merchandise; his image in the media had been less than perfect lately.

"I'll explain it then. Kaiba Land needs a boost in ticket sales this quarter to help off-set some of the costs, and I want you to figure out a way how to do so."

"Me?" This was the sort of thing Seto loved doing himself-coming up with the big ideas that got his name in the newspapers; using the genius that had made him famous.

"Yes, you," Seto said. He was dead serious, and there was no changing his mind once it was made up. "Wasn't it you that suggested we add rides to the park when you were nine? I'd say that turned out well."

How could he help boost popularity of Duel Monsters? Mokuba didn't even have his own deck (an ironic fact, since Seto owned nearly ever card ever made), and the closest he'd even gotten to a real duel was five years ago at Duelist Kingdom where he stole some kid's deck to challenge Yuugi to avenge Seto's honor after he lost to him. He wasn't even challenged by any of the Big Five when Noa trapped most the contestants of the Battle City finals in his virtual world.

Mokuba was quiet in thought. Seto was going to let him decide an entire project on his own? He was no stranger to organizing events, but usually, it was doing phone calls and contacts to gather people for something Seto was organizing. He was the commissioner during Battle City, but as he was barely five feet tall at the time, he had a hard time on a few occasions with people not taking him very seriously without Seto stepping in. He had helped his brother out a lot, but coming up with a whole event entirely was something different.

"Are you saying...you want me to plan a dueling event to boost ticket sales?"

"Who said anything about dueling?" Seto asked and walked over Mokuba's chair. "I told you, the idea is entirely yours. You've been asking for this for months."

"I have?"

Seto nodded. " I can't blame you for wanting your own identity. I'm the last one to tell you not to go out and prove yourself to the world. It's the least I can do, since you didn't ask for me to become a household name by taking down a megalomaniac." His voice went icy cool at the end of that sentence, as it always did where the issue of Gozaburo came up."But if you want to be known for who you are and not just for being my brother, you should show the world that in a more...positive way. Not just for being headstrong and stupid. You're better than that."

Mokuba nodded slightly, being glad of the fact that his brother didn't think he was entirely a kid. Still, he would much rather make a name for himself entirely on his own...no help from anyone. Like Seto had done.

And yet, it wasn't like he was going to be busy with anything else this summer break.

"When do we start?" he asked.

"Right now," Seto said. "I need a business plan from you by Monday."

"Monday?" Mokuba asked in disbelief. Today was already Saturday. "How am I supposed to work that fast?"

"Because it's summer, and you have nothing else to do being on punishment." Mokuba sometimes grew annoyed with Seto and his straightforwardness. His annoyance faded when he saw Seto pull out what appeared to be his pocket change--about eight 10,000 yen bills--and place them in his hands, and Mokuba placed the folder in his to place the bills in his pocket. "You had better make that last for this month. Which reminds me, where did you take my car to get it fixed? I'd like it back soon."

Mokuba whipped out his phone to copy down the phone number to the shop. He was glad to see his brother back to the curt person he knew him to be and not flat-out pissed off.

"I don't see why you'd put up with people accusing you of being...you know..." Mokuba said casually as he handed the number to him.

"Let them make up their stories. We know the truth."

Mokuba finished writing down the number and address on a Kaiba Corp notepad. "You know, it probably wouldn't hurt if you did get a girl."

"It probably wouldn't," said Seto, his eyes devoid in any interest in the topic. "But who exactly would I date? Most people I know bore me."

Mokuba laughed and leaned an arm on Seto's shoulder. "You don't think you half this town would jump up at the change to date the fabulously wealthy Seto Kaiba? And who says you have to be interested enough to date for --?"

"Says me," the disaffected older Kaiba remarked nonchalantly and pushed Mokuba's arm off his shoulder. Joking aside, Mokuba did worry Seto spent too much time alone working, save for the rare duel competitions. He also knew socializing and being friendly wasn't one of his brother's fortes, and that years of people being untrustworthy had made him more than a bit gun-shy, no matter how much Seto would deny it. He watched as Seto glanced at his wristwatch. "It's time for lunch. I'm sure you're hungry."

As if on cure, Mokuba heard his stomach let out another long growl. He grinned sheepishly.

Even though his hunger, the thought of the project was already taking over his mind. What could he, Mokuba Kaiba, possibly do to bring in new customers to the park? And in only a weekend? Then again, stranger things had happened-Mokuba had seen plenty of that in his sixteen years.

TBC

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Author's note: Thanks be, I'm finally done with this chapter, after five complete re-writes. The original concept for this chapter was, quite frankly...embarrassing horrid. Anyone who loves the Kaiba brothers' dynamic would have shat kittens and puppies with my other idea. Anyway...

-In case it wasn't clear in the context of the story, summer break in Japan is, on average, about a month, from mid-July to mid-August. Not the three-month long affair it is in the states. In other words, a one-month punishment in the summer is REALLY killer (Poor Mokuba :( ).

-All the OC names are indeed real Japanese names. And Isono is Roland, BTW.

Okay, I think I covered everything. Next chapter will see some momentum in the story.